What’s Coming to the Gambling Industry in the Years to Come?

gambling sector

These are professional and market analyst statistics, not horoscopes and predictions. They can assist with timely market navigation, spotting trends and GEOs, and efficiently promoting online casinos and bookies.

Online Betting and Gambling in 2024: Preliminary Predictions

Throughout the past few years, the Internet gambling sector—which includes sports betting and online casinos—has experienced significant growth. More than 175 million people routinely wager money on gambling worldwide, according to Sportslens.com, which supports the market’s expansion and increased revenue. By 2024, it’s anticipated that the Internet gambling market will be worth $100 billion.

Over 195 million people will be playing online games of chance by 2024. Of those, 143.8 million will utilize sports betting applications or websites (+16 million compared to expected totals for 2023 by some analysts). Online lotteries and casinos come in second and third, with 103.6 million and 34.7 million users, respectively. The market as a whole will have approximately 233 million users by 2027.

The Industry with the Quickest Growth Is Sports Betting

In 2022, consumers worldwide spent $80.8 billion on online casinos, lotteries, and betting applications, according to a Statista poll. It’s projected that in 2023, this amount will increase by 17% to $95 billion. Revenue is predicted to rise by 12% to $107.3 billion in 2024, despite a slower growth rate than in prior years.

The largest and fastest-growing sector of the business, online sports betting, will account for the majority of this sum (about 46%). The industry most likely to generate close to $50 billion in profit in 2024 will be online sports betting, up 15% from 2023. With $38.9 billion and $18.3 billion in revenue, respectively, online casinos and lotteries come next. The advent of new gaming technologies (VR and AR) along with alluring bonuses and promotions will have the largest influence on the industry’s growth.

US, UK, and Australia in GEO 2024

The largest online gambling industry in the world, the United States, will witness the biggest increase. Americans will spend almost $23 billion, or 21% of what they spent this year, on Internet gaming in 2024, predicts Statista.

There will be a significantly slower growth rate in Australia and the UK. The UK’s online gambling market is expected to generate $14 billion in revenue by 2024, an annual growth of 7%. Australia comes in second with over $10 billion in revenue and an 11% annual growth.

The African Gambling Market Shows the Strongest Signs of Booming

Africa has seen a rise in the total number of users and betting platforms in the past few years as gambling has gained popularity in many of the continent’s nations. Over the last ten years, the African gaming sector has experienced substantial growth, and this trend is predicted to continue in the upcoming years.

Many reasons, such as the rising middle class, the proliferation of the Internet, and the growing usage of mobile devices, have contributed to the rapid rise of the African gambling sector.

The African gaming market is anticipated to expand at an average yearly growth rate of 12% between 2020 and 2025, per a report published by Research and Markets. According to the analysis, by 2025, the African gaming market is predicted to grow to a value of over $40 billion.

Many multinational gaming businesses have taken notice of this industry’s rise and are extending their reach in the region in an attempt to capitalize on the promise of the African market. Several of the largest gaming corporations globally have set up shop in Africa.

It’s sometimes neglected or disregarded, even though the African gaming market has the potential to surpass the European gambling market in the future. This can be partly attributed to the reality that the African gaming market is still in its infancy and not as developed as the European one.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot of room for expansion in the African gaming industry. With more than 1.3 billion people living there, many of whom are highly proficient in technology, the African market has the capacity to grow to be among the biggest worldwide for gaming.

Furthermore, the ease with which consumers can access online gambling platforms because of the widespread use of mobile technology in Africa is contributing to the market’s expansion. Additionally, a lot of African nations are starting to enact more welcoming gaming laws, which may promote increased investment and industry expansion. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya lead the way in Africa when it comes to laws and regulations, as well as revenues and number of players, while there are best betting sites in Namibia at this site trying to make a breakthrough in the sector.

The 2024–2026 Gaming Market: What’s Fueling the Sector’s Expansion?

The worldwide gaming sector is expected to have brought in close to $188 billion by the year’s end of 2023; 2.6% greater than the previous year. This information can be found in the Newzoo paper. As expected, the gaming market will continue to stabilize, with 212.4 billion dollars expected to be generated annually by 2026. Experts predict that younger generations will likely start gambling more frequently shortly. As the current player base ages, new players are joining the scene, which supports the industry’s overall expansion.

It’s interesting to note that the release of the TV show “Last of Us” and the 2023 movie “The Super Mario Bros.” have had a big impact on the popularity of computer games. The release of eagerly anticipated video games like Final Fantasy XVI, Hogwarts Legacy, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is linked to the rise of the game industry. The epidemic caused the original release dates for 2020 and 2022 to be rescheduled.

Important Developments in the Gaming Industry Between 2024 and 2026

  • By the conclusion of 2023, the mobile games market is expected to have grown by 0.8%, or $92.6 billion, but at a slower rate than in prior years. The problems with user engagement and monetization that Apple and Google’s mobile game developers are facing are the reason for the growth slowdown.
  • It’s anticipated that 3.38 billion players will exist globally by 2023, with mobile gaming playing a significant role in this growth. It’s anticipated that there will be 1.47 billion gamers worldwide by the year 2020, an increase of 7,3%.
  • With the key markets of China, India, Japan, and South Korea, Asia Pacific is home to over half of the players; 20% of players are from North America and Europe. However, the growth rate of the Asia Pacific area isn’t keeping up with the global average.
  • By 2023, it is estimated that 46% of the worldwide gaming market income will come from North America and Europe. In the meantime, it’s projected that revenues in North America will increase by 3.8% reaching $51.6 billion, while revenues in Europe will expand by 3.2% to $34.4 billion.

Over the Next 5 Years, eSports Will See an Increase in Viewership and Engagement

Esports’ spectator engagement is increasing, its audience is rising, and it’s always changing.

According to Gambling Insider, the worldwide eSports betting field was estimated to be worth $11.2 billion in 2022. It’s anticipated to increase at a consistent 13.7% compound yearly growth rate to reach over $24.19 billion by 2028.

Prospects of Slots in the Long Run: Leading GEOs and Suppliers

The market for slot machines was estimated to be worth $62.1 billion globally in 2022. By 2030, experts estimate it will expand at an average yearly rate of 7% to reach $107 billion. By 2030, the online slots market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% to reach $67.6 billion, according to ReportLinker. By the way, we may contrast it with the experts’ predictions from a year ago about gaming and betting through 2030.

Where, by 2030, will the market for slot machines grow?

  • Currently leading the pack, the US market is expected to reach $16.9 billion by the year’s conclusion of 2022. The market is expected to be in paid access by 2030.
  • China is ranked second and is expected to reach a $24 billion market volume by 2030 (at an average annual growth rate of +11%).
  • GEO Canada is the next major player in the industry; there, growth will occur at an annual pace of 5.6%.
  • The slot machine marketplace in Japan is expected to expand by 4.2% a year.
  • Germany will grow at the fastest rate among European nations, at about 5.1% annually.

Conclusion

A number of important factors will influence the sector’s performance in 2024. Investors in the gaming industry need to carefully analyze many themes, from potential and sustained expansion in the US market to regulatory concerns in Europe.